Union workers picket for 3rd day at Las Vegas casino with no talks slated

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Picketing continued Sunday outside a hotel-casino near the Las Vegas Strip that remained open with no talks scheduled between management and union members striking for a new contract. Workers are seeking a pay raise and benefits comparable to pacts reached last year at other resorts. The walkout by about 700 Culinary Workers Union laborers at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas comes a week before the second annual Las Vegas Grand Prix is due to draw hundreds of thousands of fans for Formula 1 racing on the Strip and nearby streets. It’s the first open-ended strike since 2002 for the largest labor union in Nevada, which has about 60,000 members. No new negotiations were scheduled, said union spokesperson Bethany Khan and Terri Maruca, media representative for Virgin Hotels, owner of the 1,500-room property. Maruca said the company has fielded applications from more than 600 prospective contract and temporary workers since Friday. The union pays striking workers $500 per week for at least five days for picketing shifts.